Main World.
Konoha Year Twenty-Two, autumn.
British Continent, New Capital.
Imperial Palace, underground secret chamber.
Nagato sat cross-legged in the center of the secret chamber, his eyes tightly shut and his breathing steady. He wore a dark gray training outfit, and his dark red hair gleamed purplish-black in the violet light of the Soul Yin Stone. His Mangekyō Sharingan was already active. Within his scarlet eyes, the vortex pattern in his left eye and the Triangular Blade Pattern in his right slowly rotated. He was training. Not to refine his Dōjutsu, but to break through. From the Mangekyō to the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan.
Toyotomi Yinglang stood at the edge of the secret chamber, his hands clasped behind his back, his gaze resting on Nagato. Toyotomi Liuli stood beside him, holding a cup of hot tea, a trace of nervousness on her face. Tsunade stood on the other side, her arms folded across her chest and her brows slightly furrowed.
"Can he succeed?" Tsunade asked very quietly.
"Yes." Toyotomi Yinglang answered without the slightest hesitation.
"Why are you so sure?"
"Because his will is strong enough." Toyotomi Yinglang's voice was calm. "Breaking through to the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan isn't about bloodline or talent. It's about will. Whether you have enough will to break the shackles of your bloodline."
Tsunade fell silent.
In the center of the secret chamber, Nagato's body began to tremble slightly. Fine beads of sweat seeped from his forehead, and his muscles tensed as though he were enduring some invisible pressure. His Mangekyō Sharingan spun wildly in his eyes, the vortex pattern in his left growing deeper and deeper, the Triangular Blade Pattern in his right growing brighter and brighter.
"Urgh..." He let out a low, muffled groan.
Scarlet light poured from his eyes, enveloping the entire secret